Last month, a cell phone call to 911 was incorrectly routed to the wrong dispatching center in Franklin County, Ohio, wasting 17 potentially vital seconds to re-route the call to the correct dispatching center. Meanwhile, 72-year-old Howard Hartman lay slumped over the steering wheel of his car, not breathing.
While that 17-second delay wouldn’t have saved the life of Hartman, Franklin County officials want to make sure 911 calls from cell phones are routed to the correct dispatching center in the future. The county is conducting an expansive audit on the nearly 800 cell towers in the county, reports The Columbus Dispatch.
Jay Somerville, the manager of the Northwest Regional Emergency Communications Center in Franklin County, requested the audit and Franklin County regional 911 communications director is ensuring that audit takes place.
“When they put up towers, who do they tell?” Cecilia Weirick, Franklin County regional 911 communications coordinator asked rhetorically, implying the carriers should provide more information to local governments to ensure 911 calls are properly routed.
Oftentimes, wireless companies automatically route 911 calls to the Sheriff’s Office—which was done in the case mentioned above—but the Sheriff’s Office is the default location in only 60 of 88 Ohio counties, according to Weirick.
The audit is expected to be complete by the end of summer. Somerville said it will be the county’s first audit of its cell tower inventory in seven years.
March 8, 2017
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